1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a shoe upper made from a blank of material by folding and stitching the blank.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, numerous shoe constructions are known wherein the shoe upper or the entire shoe itself is made from a blank of material by folding and stitching the blank in a particular way. For example, one type of shoe upper or shoe-like construction involves the use of a single, generally symmetrical blank wherein the bottom of the shoe upper or shoe construction is situated in the general center of the blank. The toe, side and heel portions of the shoe structure are positioned generally around the bottom portion. The toe portion is located on the opposite side of the bottom portion than the heel portion, and one side portion is located on the opposite side of the bottom portion than the other side portion. The shoe structure is created by generally folding the side portions, heel portion and toe portion upward and stitching them appropriately such that a shoe-like or shoe upper construction is formed. The shoe upper formed can then be attached to a shoe sole.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,104,357 and 2,974,427 are exemplary of this slipper-style shoe construction. This type of construction is not conducive to performance footwear because it does not allow for fit-adjustment of the upper. Also, these patents necessarily require lasting to generate a shape that will accommodate the foot of the wearer.
Another type of shoe-like construction made from a blank of material is illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,308. This reference discloses a shoe construction wherein a blank of material is formed such that generally one half of the shoe construction is formed on one side of the blank and the other half of the shoe construction is formed on the other side of the blank. The shoe construction is formed by generally folding the blank upon itself and stitching the bottom and toe portion edges together to form a foot enclosure. Thus, a seam runs centrally along the bottom of the shoe structure around the toes and over the top portion of the foot. This shoe construction is disadvantageous because the stitch line located on the bottom of the shoe construction can interfere with the attachment of the shoe structure to a sole. The centrally located stitch line may further be a source of discomfort and irritation to a shoe wearer along both the bottom and top of the foot.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,289,328 shows a method of constructing a sock from a blank. This construction method involves an asymmetrical blank wherein the side portions, heel portion and toe portion of the shoe construction are formed by wrapping the blank and stitching two opposite edges of the blank together. The bottom portion of the sock is generally connected to one side portion of the sock such that when the side portions, heel portion and toe portion are formed, the bottom portion can be formed by folding it upward in a direction that is generally perpendicular to the longitudinal center line of the sock and by stitching the bottom portion to the formed toe portion, heel portion and other side portion. The blank of material is generally asymmetrical and has the bottom portion integral with what appears to be the portion of the blank which forms one side of the sock. Notably, the seams are butt jointed or felled in constructing the sock, in turn creating a slight amount of excess material in the area of the seams. This sock construction is thus disadvantageous because the excess material in the area of the seams may cause irritation to the wearer.